Ahh, home, sweet, sweet home. I'm never getting on an airplane again! At least not for... however long it takes me to want to go traveling the world again (i.e., probably not that long). The flight home was easily the most excruciating plane ride of my life. Fourteen hours is too long, especially when you're hurting, when you're aching too see your husband's face again, and when you have access to that godawful tool of the devil known as Flight Path, where you can see exactly how long you've been in the air and how LONG it will be before you land. Pure evil.

So yes, I'm home from five weeks in Australia! It feels weird to write about being home, when I have yet to post about being away in the first place. I guess this'll just have to be like those books and movies that start at the end, flash back to the beginning of the story, then bring you back to the end again. Yeah, it'll be all epic and poetic and we can just pretend that I planned it that way, instead of acknowledging how crazy-ass busy I was that the only thing I had time for most days was just to jot down a quick few notes for later morphage into real entries.

Damn, I was busy before I ever left, too. It's been two whole months of extreme busy-ness, and truthfully, it's already been one whole week of extreme laziness (I arrived home July 31st), so it's all starting to balance out.

To recap: The month of June was a frickin' crazy one, with the most difficult final exam of my life (and a huge ass paper!) ending just before my family arrived for graduation. Then I had two graduation ceremonies (uh, I should maybe write about that...), and just under a week for last minute preparations for my trip. I was so wound up that week that my stomach was in knots most of the time. But it was fun times, too, because seeing my family rocked. Also, lots of people wanted to see me or talk to me before I left, and it was fun getting so many well wishes from everyone, and so many demands of, "You have to take lots and lots of pictures!" True to my word, I took about 1400 pictures (well, some were videos) while in Australia, and am slowly getting them edited and posted online. Links soon to come.

So yes, home! Home, where I can actually be with my awesome husband (rawr), and even see his face when I talk to him! We talked on the phone many times while I was away, which was the only thing that kept the homesickness at bay. Though, homesickness maybe isn't even the right word. It's like I kept trying to explain to people, but I'm not sure if they understood; I was homesick for Joe. I didn't really miss the apartment, or Los Angeles, or California, or even the cats as much as I thought I would, really. I just missed hanging out with the one person who understands me better than anyone else, and who I love more than I ever knew I could. And it's so beyond great to have that again. And yes, he feels the same way. It's just cool to know that we love each other, and we just really like each other too, you know? All right, I'll stop...

It also really is good to see the cats again and hear their purrs. (Though, I did not miss all their fur. Holy christ, the shedding!)

And, my beautiful bed is so soft!

And, of course - high speed internet! Oh, how I love thee! Let's make out!

And privacy! Who knew how important that was? Well, it is, especially to introvert girl like me. And a private bathroom! So nice! Speaking of the bathroom, I am so glad to not only have awesome water pressure again, but also, the removable showerhead. Hooray, now I can be as clean as I want to be (or as dirty, depending on my mood, ha!).

Things not so good about being home:

~ The building managers are changing all the water pipes in the entire building, which means they can come into my apartment any time, M-F, 8:30-5:30pm, which frankly, is when I've been sleeping. People, stay out of my apartment. Also, the hammering. Can I go to a hotel? Oy.

~ The air-conditioner blows air, but the air? It is not cold. I am turning all shades of frustrated as I melt into goo. The really sad part - the temperature is FINE outside! I'm going to have to go camping just to live in nice temperatures. Actually, that's not a bad idea considering the construction. Hmm.

~ L.A. traffic. Wow, I forgot how much I DO NOT miss driving. AT ALL. People are seriously asshole drivers in this neighborhood, and also, all the cars and the honking and the screaming of profanities? Not cool. I was having an extra sensitive day, being very, very tired and missing Australia and just not ready to interact with the world when a guy tried to cut me off, and then screamed a string of obscenities at me and everyone else, as he careened across the road. I mean, clearly he's just crazy (and drunk?) and I shouldn't take it personally, but I was all, "That would never happen in Australia!" That's probably not even true, but it seemed true at the time, and tears seriously dropped down my cheeks while I felt like I was pitifully falling apart. "I want to go back!" was all I could think as my heart fell deeply out of love with L.A. for the time being. I missed every peaceful place I'd ever known all at once, and wanted to escape to all of them, away from the endless noise and motion on that city block, and all city blocks in a fifty mile radius. It's taking me a while to adjust.

Things I miss from Australia:

~ People are ridiculously polite over there. I'd be in someone's way and say, "Excuse me," and they would say, "Pardon me." ?? They weren't even in my way! And people kept calling me "love," and "dear," which was pretty cool.

~ The vibe of the small towns I visited in Western Australia. The people were so damn friendly and just wanted to chat. I loved the long winding stories that seemed like crazy digressions that really did have a point, after all, which I only realized when said digressions came back full circle. It was awesome, and a nice symbol for how laid back everyone was. Nothing was rushed, not conversations, not trips to see interesting places, not even the internet connections or food service. Sometimes that was frustrating, but also, a thing worthy of respect, because really, that is a pretty awesome way to live.

~ The sound of the cross walk signs in Melbourne, which sounded like something from a video game.

~ Queen Victoria Market, where you could buy anything you wanted, including these amazing lamb sandwiches that were only $2.50!

~ Riding the tram to downtown Melbourne and going out drinking and dancing without a worry in the world.

~ Learning something new every single day.

~ The sounds of the beautiful birds they have there (magpies, butcher birds, barking owls). And the sight of them! Lorikeets and cockatoos just hanging out in the city, because they live there!

~ Using the sounds of local birds waking in the morning as my alarm clock in every city we visited.

~ Hearing "mate" a lot, and even sometimes having it addressed towards me! (It's traditionally a word men used for each other, but definitely expanding to women in younger generations.)

~ All the people I met - Australians and Americans. At least I know I can keep in touch with them, but it's just a little different now that we're not in Australia together anymore.

I do miss it. I am so unbelievably glad that I went. And I look forward to telling you all about it!